Our Story

Opened in 1993 by mom and son duo, Lee and Jeremy Barty to create delicious food in a beautiful venue, the Gardener’s Cottage has become a southern suburbs institution. A family business in every sense, supported by a crew of loyal and long-serving staff.

In keeping with Cecil Michaelis’ original request, we are committed to job creation and growing unskilled labour. More than half of our kitchen staff began as a dishwasher and have grown into head chefs, sous chefs and bakers.

Generosity and a love of good food is at the heart of all we do at the Gardener’s Cottage.

Your stories make our stories

Our story is made up of your stories. Authors write their books under the Camphor tree; parents watch their kids play in the carved wooden playground where they climbed in years past; lovers exchange looks; cyclists catch a breath, and dogs pant on leads. The bare-footed and well-healed are welcome. We’ve been visited by presidents and film stars, and people from the hood who enjoy a daily coffee in our company.

It's all about the people here. That's the life of this place. The story of the Gardener’s Cottage is yours as much as ours.